The heavy icebreaker Terry Fox was designed to serve as escort to oil tankers through the Canadian Arctic territories, This class of icebreakers is classified as "heavy tug" (supply vessel). Besides escorting ships, they also support offshore oil rigs in ice-rich waters. The ship's bow is spoon-shaped, allowing it to ride up on packed ice in order to break it. The icebreaker is "Arctic Class 4" certified, which means ice capacity up to 1,8 m (6 ft).

CCGS Terry Fox icebreaker itinerary program includes operations in Gulf of St Lawrence (during winter) and in the eastern Canadian Arctic territories (during summer). The ship's previous assignment was at CCG Base Dartmouth (Nova Scotia) until 2008. The ship will be decommissioned in 2021-2022, right after the commissioning of the new CCGS John G Diefenbaker (2021-2022).

Note: In the case of poor AIS coverage, tracking the vessel's current location will be impossible. You can see the CruiseMapper's list of all icebreakers and ice-breaking research ships in the "itinerary" section of our Icebreakers hub. All states and their fleets are listed there.